Over the next eternity, I will be watching and reviewing all GAEA Japan events in order, starting with their debut show on April 15th, 1995. Visit the GAEA Japan Project page for a brief history of the promotion, the roster page, my favorite matches from the promotion, and the full list of all events reviewed. I will also be uploading my favorite match from each show so that everyone can enjoy it.

If you want to watch the GAEA Japan events I am reviewing, Mike Lorefice sells the complete seasons at a very reasonable price both via download and physical copy. Mike’s quebrada.net is one of the sites I’m using to write these reviews, its a great resource for learning more about GAEA Japan and wrestling in general.

Finally I have made it to 1996! Attendance is up a bit for this one, maybe fans were excited for a new year of Joshi to begin. This event had a one night tag tournament but we will only be seeing the finals, as the bulk of the one hour taping focuses on the big 12 woman Captain Falls Elimination Match. We still have no titles in GAEA Japan at this point, so gimmicks such as big elimination matches and promotional wars is how they are maintaining fan interest. Here is the full card:

• Original Captain Fall Match: Chigusa Nagayo, Dynamite Kansai, Bomber Hikaru, Bolshoi Kid, Saburo, and Hiromi Sugo vs. Devil Masami, Mayumi Ozaki, KAORU, Cuty Suzuki, Hikari Fukuoka, and Makie Numao
• Hiromi Yagi vs. Toshie Uematsu
• Fight To The Last Young Generation One Night Tag Tournament Final: Sonoko Kato and Yuki Miyazaki vs. Tomoko Kuzumi and Chikayo Nagashima 

I had to make some more profiles but now everyone wrestling on the show has one, you can click on their names above to go straight to it. There will definitely be some clipping here, lets see how it goes.

Chigusa Nagayo, Dynamite Kansai, Bomber Hikaru, Bolshoi Kid, Saburo, and Hiromi Sugo vs. Devil Masami, Mayumi Ozaki, KAORU, Cuty Suzuki, Hikari Fukuoka, and Makie Numao
Original Captain Fall Match

As soon as the bell rings all 12 wrestlers start brawling, Saburo catches Makie Numao with a chokeslam and she covers her for the three count! Makie Numao is eliminated. Poor rookie. The match resets while they roll Makie out of the ring, Saburo and Fukuoka stay in as the legal wrestlers and Saburo throws Fukuoka in he corner before tagging in Bolshoi. Bolshoi walks the ropes while holding Fukuoka’s wrist before hitting an armdrag, another armdrag by Bolshoi and she hits a dropkick. Fukuoka dropkicks her back and tags Suzuki, tombstone by Suzuki and she covers Bolshoi for two. Dragon Sleeper by Suzuki, she lets go as Ozaki comes in and Ozaki also puts Bolshoi in a sleeper. Nagayo eventually breaks it up, Ozaki tags in Kaoru and Kaoru hits a vertical suplex. Sleeper by Kaoru but she eventually lets go and tags Ozaki back in, Bolshoi hits a trio of crossbodies on Ozaki until Ozaki catches her and swings Bolshoi around by her neck. Irish whip by Ozaki and she hits a powerbomb, but Bolshoi kicks out of the cover. Tequila Sunrise by Ozaki, her team runs in to block the other team and Ozaki picks up the three count! Bolshoi Kid is eliminated.

Ozaki stays in and powerbombs Sugo, a second powerbomb by Ozaki and she covers her for the three count! Hiromi Sugo is eliminated as we get rid of the lower ranked wrestlers. Saburo comes in but Ozaki DDTs her, she tags in Kaoru but Saburo hits a Side Russian Leg Sweep. Everyone takes turns headbutting Kaoru, Saburo goes up top but Masami grabs her from the apron and pulls her out of the ring. Kaoru goes off the ropes but Bomber hits her from the apron and then dives out of the ring onto Masami. The other wrestlers see this as a challenge as they all take turns doing dives out of the ring, moonsault by Kaoru out of the ring and Nagayo is the final one as she dives out with a crossbody onto Kaoru. Nagayo slides both Kaoru and Saburo back in the ring, swandive missile dropkick by Kaoru and she nails a tombstone piledriver. Swandive moonsault by Kaoru, and she covers Saburo for the three count! Saburo is eliminated. Things are not going well for Chigusa Nagayo’s team. The teams huddle before Masami and Nagayo come in, Masami boots Nagayo in her already injured shoulder before tagging in Kaoru. Kaoru focuses on the shoulder as well but Nagayo avoids her legdrop, kicks to the leg by Nagayo but Kaoru tags in Ozaki. Ozaki applies a seated armbar and then a Fujiwara Armbar, but it gets broken up. Suzuki is tagged in and she also applies an armbar, she tags Fukuoka and Fukuoka elbows Nagayo in the arm. Nagayo gets away and applies a sleeper, but Fukuoka gets a foot on the ropes for the break.

Nagayo tags in Kansai, headscissors by Fukuoka to Kansai and she tags in Ozaki. Kansai quickly drops Ozaki with a backdrop suplex, she pulls Ozaki off the turnbuckles but is overwhelmed by Ozaki’s teammates. Kansai is stomped by all five of them, German suplex by Ozaki but it gets a two count. Ozaki tags Masami but Kansai avoids her senton attempt, she tags in Nagayo and Bomber comes in too as they all stomp on Masami. Nagayo puts Masami in a sleeper but lets go after a moment and hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Nagayo goes for a powerbomb but it gets interrupted, Kansai puts Masami on the top turnbuckle but Masami recovers and goes for a legdrop. Kansai moves out of the way, she goes for Splash Mountain and nails it, getting the three count! Devi Masami is eliminated. Kansai and Fukuoka are the next wrestlers in, piledriver by Kansai but it gets broken up. Kansai tags in Bomber, Bombs Away by Bomber and she hits the Reverse Splash, but her pin is broken up. Bomber picks up Fukuoka but Fukuoka slides away and they trade elbows. Fukuoka knocks Bomber off her feet and covers her for two, Fukuoka charges Bomber but Bomber hits a powerslam. Bomber goes up top, Kansai and Nagayo both come in and hit lariats on Fukuoka. Diving headbutt by Bomber, but her cover is broken up. Hard elbow by Bomber, she picks up Fukuoka as Nagayo and Kansai come in, but they elbow their own partner by accident. Ozaki and Suzuki run in to take care of Kansai and Nagayo, Rider Kick by Fukuoka to Bomber and she covers her for the three count! Bomber Hikaru is eliminated.

We are now at 4 vs. 2, Nagayo squares off with Fukuoka and hits a leg sweep. Fukuoka moonsaults over Nagayo and hits a headscissors, Kaoru comes in and hits a front dropkick on Nagayo but Nagayo fires back with a lariat on her. Backdrop suplex by Nagayo on Fukuoka but Kaoru tags in, Nagayo goes for a suplex on her as well but Kaoru blocks it and lands on top of her. Kaoru goes for a swandive move but Nagayo moves, leg sweep by Nagayo and she hits a powerbomb. She goes for another powerbomb but Kaoru reverses it into a hurricanrana for two. Kaoru tags in Suzuki but Nagayo catches her with a heel kick and tags in Kansai. Kansai picks up Suzuki but Suzuki applies a dragon sleeper, she lets go of it after a moment and hits a release German. Ozaki and Fukuoka both hit release Germans as well, dragon suplex by Suzuki to Kansai but Nagayo breaks it up. Suzuki goes up top but Kaoru kicks her as she jumps off, Ozaki comes in and powerbombs Kansai before Fukuoka hits a moonsault. Double footstomp by Suzuki and Ozaki, then Fukuoka goes back up top and nails the moonsault footstomp, but Nagayo breaks up Suzuki’s cover. Suzuki and Ozaki both go up top of one corner while Kaoru and Fukuoka go to a different corner and all four hit diving headbutts, but once again Nagayo breaks up the pin attempt. Suzuki and Ozaki go back up top again and hit a double jumping knee to the back but the cover is interrupted. They go up top AGAIN but this time accidentally hit their own partners, Kansai goes for Splash Mountain on Suzuki but Suzuki reverses into a cradle and picks up the three count! Dynamite Kansai is eliminated! And… the bell rings and the match is over! But who won?

Look, I don’t know what is going on. Once the bell rings, the referee raises Chigusa Nagayo’s hand as her team looks really happy, even though her partner just got pinned and she was the only one left on her team. My only theory, and its just a theory, is that there was a time limit and that at the end of the time if one team wasn’t completely eliminated, it defaulted to if the captain was eliminated, and if Devil Masami was the captain then that would mean her team lost (assuming Nagayo was also a captain). But I have no idea if that is true, they didn’t flash up a winner/match time after the match like they always do so I can’t say for sure, and I can’t understand Japanese to know if the commentators explained it.

Anyway. This was a really fun match, non-explainable ending aside. There were a few slower periods but generally the action was fast paced, especially at the end. They were just throwing bombs at each other, I’m not sure how Kansai survived everything being done to her. Obviously some of the wrestlers were focused on more than others, but that was generally based on rank and emphasizing the wrestlers that the fans came to see. The dive sequence was memorable and they kept the eliminations coming at a decent pace so it never felt like it was dragging. While I wish I had more details on the ending, still a really entertaining match with all the high flying chaos I was hoping for.  Recommended

Hiromi Yagi vs. Toshie Uematsu

Toshie dropkicks Hiromi from behind, she kicks off of her in the corner and hits an elbow. Another running elbow by Toshie but Hiromi applies a cradle and elbows Toshie in the head. Snapmares by Hiromi and she applies a headlock, Hiromi gets Toshie’s back and applies a bodyscissors. Hiromi switches it into a seated armbar and applies a cross armbreaker, but Toshie wiggles to the ropes before she can fully lock it in to get the break. Irish whip by Hiromi and she hits an armdrag, but Toshie switches positions with her and hits a snapmare before applying an armbar. Cross armbreaker by Toshie but Hiromi immediately rolls out of it, front necklock by Toshie but Hiromi slams out of it and covers Toshie for two. Irish whip by Hiromi but Toshie avoids her charge and rolls her up for two. Irish whip by Toshie and she hits a back elbow, another back elbow by Toshie and she covers Hiromi for two. Toshie applies a stretch submission before putting Hiromi in an Indian Deathlock, she goes back to a stretch hold but Hiromi gets out of it and hits a German suplex.

Hiromi picks up Toshie, Toshie throws Hiromi into the corner but Hiromi avoids her charge and applies a kneelock. Toshie gets in the ropes for the break, Irish whip by Hiromi but Toshie reverses it, she goes for a Leg Roll Clutch but Hiromi blocks it. Knee to the midsection by Hiromi but Toshie cradles her for a two count. Side headlock takedown by Toshie and she hits a dropkick, another dropkick by Toshie and she hits a scoop slam. Toshie goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, she quickly goes up top again but Hiromi catches her with a Fujiwara Armbar when she jump off. Armdrag by Hiromi but Toshie rolls her up for two, Hiromi quickly gets Toshie to the mat and applies a kneelock. Back up, Toshie gets another quick roll-up but it gets two. Judo toss by Hiromi, she picks up Toshie and drops her on her head with a backdrop suplex. Hiromi goes up top and delivers a missile dropkick, she goes up again but Toshie recovers and dropkicks her before she can jump off. Toshie joins Hiromi but Hiromi slides down her back and hits a sunset flip powerbomb for the three count! Hiromi Yagi wins!

This was a good match, but oddly structured which happens with younger wrestlers sometimes. It was basically just a random mesh of flash pins and submission holds, without a lot of transitions or method to get from one to another. The submissions never felt particularly deadly and didn’t play into the finish at all, even if it is clear from this match that Hiromi Yagi is a skilled submission machine. The backdrop suplex was very head drop-y so I am glad that Toshie was ok, not sure if they went to the end quicker because of it. Perfectly fine for a casual watch, nothing wrong with the action itself, it just didn’t have a clear direction so it was hard to get invested.

Sonoko Kato and Yuki Miyazaki and Tomoko Kuzumi and Chikayo Nagashima
Fight To The Last Young Generation One Night Tag Tournament Final

• Semi Final: Sonoko Kato and Yuki Miyazaki defeated Toshie Sato and Kanako Motoya
• Semi Final: Chikayo Nagashima and Tomoko Kuzumi defeated Chiharu Nakano and Reiko Amano

Which set up this match to end the event. All four of these wrestlers are basically rookies, with the JWP wrestlers being slightly more experienced as Miyazaki debuted in January 1995 and Kuzumi (better known today as Azumi Hyuga) debuted in December of 1994. The teams are mixed between promotions but that won’t matter here as they all are feisty and want to win the tournament. Not a lot of time is left on this broadcast so I assume this match will be very clipped.

We join this match in progress, with Sonoko being double teamed. Yuki comes in to help as Sonoko gets Tomoko up in an airplane spin, Chikayo cradles Sonoko from behind however and picks up a two count. Chikayo stomps on Sonoko and hits a cutter, scoop slam by Chikayo and she covers Sonoko for two. Irish whip by Chikayo but Sonoko reverses it and hits a bulldog. Tomoko runs in and dropkicks Sonoko, Chikayo tags Tomoko but Sonoko hits a hard elbow. Tomoko flips herself out to the apron and hits a swandive dropkick, cover by Tomoko but it gets two. Sonoko escapes Tomoko and hits a bulldog, giving her time to tag in Yuki. Hip attacks by Yuki to Tomoko, she picks her up but after a collision the advantage is regained by Tomoko. Swandive dropkick by Tomoko and she stomps at Yuki, Yuki goes for a leg clutch but Tomoko blocks it and tags Chikayo. Stunner by Chikayo and she hits a cutter for a two count. Chikayo picks up Yuki but Yuki hits a sunset flip for two. She tags in Sonoko but Chikayo catches Sonoko with the Corbata for two. Chikayo goes off the ropes but Sonoko pushes her off and hits four leg drops for a two count. Sonoko picks up Chikayo and hits a running bulldog, Acid Drop by Sonoko but Chikayo barely gets a shoulder up. Yuki goes up top and hits a missile dropkick on Chikayo, Sonoko then delivers a diving Lou Thesz Press but Tomoko breaks up the cover. Sonoko gets Chikayo on her shoulders but she wiggles off and rolls up Sonoko for the three count! Tomoko Kuzumi and Chikayo Nagashima win the match and the tournament.

This was too clipped to get a great feel of, only 5 of 17 minutes was shown, but what we did see was fine. Very fast paced, lots going on, no real downtime as these younger wrestlers haven’t really started working on “pacing” yet so its constant action. The fact three of these four are still active today is pretty cool (and rare), and its fun to see them back when they were still learning. Tomoko looked great as she always does but there were no real weak links here, everyone did their part well and it was the type of match you couldn’t look away or you’d miss something. I liked what I saw, just wish that I could have seen more.

The post GAEA Japan SPLASH J and RUNNING G II on 1/14/96 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Over the next eternity, I will be watching and reviewing all GAEA Japan events in order, starting with their debut show on April 15th, 1995. Visit the GAEA Japan Project page for a brief history of the promotion, the roster page, my favorite matches from the promotion, and the full list of all events reviewed. I will also be uploading my favorite match from each show so that everyone can enjoy it.

If you want to watch the GAEA Japan events I am reviewing, Mike Lorefice sells the complete seasons at a very reasonable price both via download and physical copy. Mike’s quebrada.net is one of the sites I’m using extensively to write these reviews, its a great resource for learning more about GAEA Japan and wrestling in general.

For the first time, I am reviewing a GAEA Japan COMM release! GAEA Japan generally aired on GAORA TV, but they also put out commercial tapes as well. Most of their later commercial tapes are compilations, but in 1995 and 1996 they released several that showed entire events. This isn’t their first commercial tape of 1995, however I decided to just review the TV broadcast of the other shows. This event was never shown on TV, however, and since I didn’t want to miss any events I tracked down the commercial DVD (you can get it too at the link above). The show featured a one night six woman tag team tournament, here is the full card:

• Super Scramble Six Women Tag Tournament: Chigusa Nagayo, Chikayo Nagashima, and Kobayashi vs. Hikari Fukuoka, Sonoko Kato, and Kanako Motoya
• Super Scramble Six Women Tag Tournament: Dynamite Kansai, Makie Numao, and Yasuko Kuragaki vs. KAORU, Meiko Satomura, and Tomoko Kuzumi
• Battle Royal with Bolshoi Kid, Bomber Hikari, Chigusa Nagayo, Chihiro Nakano, Chikayo Nagashima, Cuty Suzuki, Devil Masami, Dynamite Kansai, Makie Numao, Mayumi Ozaki, Rieko Amano, Saburo, Tomoko Miyaguchi, Tomori Kobayashi, Toshie Sato, Toshie Uematsu, Yasuko Kuragaki, and Yuki Miyazaki
• Super Scramble Six Women Tag Final: Hikari Fukuoka, Sonoko Kato, and Kanako Motoya vs. KAORU, Meiko Satomura, and Tomoko Kuzumi

Since this was shown on tape and not on TV, nothing will be clipped. You can click on the names above to go directly to that wrestler’s profile here on Joshi City.

Chigusa Nagayo, Chikayo, and Tomori Kobayashi vs. Hikari Fukuoka, Sonoko, and Kanako Motoya
Super Scramble Six Women Tag Tournament Semi Final

Chikayo and Kanako start the match but Tomori quickly tags in and they double team Kanako in the corner. Kanako swats them away when they go for a double dropkick and tags in Sonoko, Fukuoka comes in too but Nagayo gets in the ring and clears house. She starts working over Sonoko and hits a suplex, but Fukuoka breaks up the cover. Nagayo casually slaps Kanako before tagging in Tomori, Tomori works a headlock on Sonoko but Sonoko suplexes her to the mat and throws her into the corner. She tags in Fukuoka, Kanako comes in too and they both dropkick Tomori. Fukuoka whips Tomori around the ring while kicking her, stretch hold by Fukuoka but Chikayo eventually comes in to break it up. Fukuoka tags in Kanako, dropkick by Kanako and she covers Tomori for two. Kanako goes for a sleeper but Tomori quickly gets out of it and tags in Chikayo. Dropkick by Chikayo and she hits Kanako with two more, she picks up Kanako and applies a crossface before tagging in Nagayo. Nagayo throws Kanako into the opposite corner so that Fukuoka can tag in, kicks by Nagayo and she drills Fukuoka with a heel kick. Fukuoka catches the next kick attempt and apples a cross kneelock, but Tomori and Chikayo both run in to break it up.

Kanako and Sonoko take care of them, Kanako goes to help Fukuoka but Tomori and Chikayo run in again. They still can’t free Nagayo as Fukuoka and Kanako won’t let go, finally Nagayo reaches the ropes and both Kanako and Fukuoka release the hold. Fukuoka tags Sonoko, Sonoko applies a kneelock but Nagayo laughs it off (literally) and slaps Sonoko to get out of it. Nagayo tags Tomori, body blocks by Tomori to Sonoko and she covers her for two. Tomori wants Fukuoka so she tags in, Fukuoka elbows Tomori to the mat but Tomori keeps firing back. Tomori tosses Fukuoka to the mat and tags in Nagayo, piledriver by Nagayo but Kanako breaks up the cover. Giant Swing by Nagayo, Tomori comes in and she gives Fukuoka the Giant Swing as well. Tomori tags Chikayo and she does the same, as Fukuoka is probably pretty dizzy by now. Cover by Chikayo, but Kanako and Sonoko break it up. Kanako and Sonoko both put Chikayo in the Giant Swing now, which is easier since Chikayo is an itty bitty wrestler, Fukuoka returns to the ring and gives Chikayo one final Giant Swing before Kanako tags in and covers Chikayo for two. Chikayo bridges out of the next pin attempt and hits the front roll push, but Fukuoka hits her from behind with a missile dropkick.

Chikayo stumbles to her corner and tags in Tomori, Bubba Bomb by Tomori and Chikayo hits an assisted crossbody onto Kanako before Tomori covers her for two. Running kick by Kanako and she tags in Sonoko, bulldog by Sonoko to Tomori but Tomori blocks the next one. Fukuoka attacks Tomori from behind, but Nagayo kicks Sonoko in the head from the apron. Tomori tags in Nagayo, heel kick by Nagayo to Sonoko but the cover is broken up. Kicks by Nagayo, Fukuoka tags in and goes for a suplex, but Nagayo blocks it. Spinning headscissors by Fukuoka, she goes for a hurricanrana but Nagayo catches her and hits a powerbomb. Nagayo tags Chikayo, roll-up by Chikayo but Fukuoka kicks out. Fukuoka goes for a Space Rolling Elbow but Chikayo moves, Tomori tries to help with a missile dropkick but she hits Chikayo by accident. Moonsault by Fukuoka to Chikayo, but Nagayo breaks it up. Fukuoka picks up Chikayo and gives her an airplane spin, but again the cover is broken up by Chikayo’s friends. Powerbomb by Fukuoka to Chikayo, she goes up top and nails the Rider Kick to Chikayo’s chest for the three count! Hikari Fukuoka, Sonoko Kato, and Kanako Motoya win!

This was an incredibly fun match and a great way to kick things off. Everything clicked so well, the rookies were going 100% from bell to bell and Fukuoka/Nagayo did their bits when needed to support them. Nagayo was a bit of a dick but only towards her own trainees, as she generally respected Fukuoka’s offense and sold her injured leg for as long as one could expect. Everyone got a chance to shine and they kept up the pace to keep it interesting. Really solid six woman match to open the show.  Recommended

Dynamite Kansai, Makie Numao, and Yasuko Kuragaki vs. KAORU, Satomura, and Tomoko Kuzumi
Super Scramble Six Women Tag Tournament Semi Final

Kansai throws her rookie teammates at their opponents before the bell rings to give them an early advantage, they stack their opponents in the corner but KAORU quickly gains the advantage and hits a moonsault on Kansai for a two count. Kansai quickly gets back to her feet and hits a Northern Lights Suplex, KAORU and Kansai trade strikes until Makie and Yasuko come into the ring to help. Yasuko stays in as legal but KAORU quickly takes over and tags in Tomoko. Yasuko snapmares Tomoko around and tags in Makie, dropkicks by Makie and she covers Tomoko for two. Tomoko tags in Meiko, jumping shoulderblocks by Meiko and she covers Makie for a two count. Meiko applies a bodyscissors, she then puts Makie in a camel clutch but Yasuko breaks it up. Meiko tags in Tomoko, dropkicks by Tomoko but Makie slides around her and applies a schoolboy for two. Makie tags in Yasuko, Yasuko tosses Tomoko around the ring and hits a scoop slam. Headscissors by Yasuko and she drives Tomoko’s head into the mat, Kansai returns and she kicks Tomoko around the ring. Sleeper by Kansai, she throws Tomoko into the corner and tells KAORU to tag in. KAORU does, backdrop suplex by Kansai and she covers KAORU for two. Kansai puts KAORU in a Scorpion Deathlock, KAORU’s teammates try to break it up but Kansai doesn’t budge.

They finally get Kansai off, Kansai tags in Makie and Makie delivers a diving crossbody. KAORU slaps Makie and kicks her repeatedly before tagging in Meiko, Meiko applies a cross armbreaker, KAORU comes in and applies a cross armbreaker on the other arm too, but it gets broken up. Yasuko tags in while Meiko tags in KAORU, dropkick by KAORU and she covers Yasuko for two. KAORU applies a crab hold but Yasuko eventually gets to the ropes, KAORU tags in Tomoko and hits a jumping crossbody for a two count. Yasuko hits a dropkick and tags in Kansai, sunset flip by Tomoko to Kansai and she tags in KAORU. Lariat by Kansai in the corner but KAORU ducks the next one, KAORU tries to rebound out of the corner but can’t complete the move so she applies an ankle hold instead. Kansai gets to the ropes for the break, KAORU tags in Tomoko and Tomoko dropkicks Kansai repeatedly in the leg. Meiko comes in and they both dropkick Kansai, but Kansai falls in her own corner and tags in Makie. Tomoko elbows Makie but Makie puts her in a Dragon Sleeper, Meiko tries to break up the second one but Yasuko dropkicks her. Missile dropkick by Yasuko to Tomoko, and with Makie they slam Tomoko to the mat. Yasuko kicks Tomoko into the corner but Tomoko sneaks in a sunset flip for two.

Meiko is tagged in and she hits jumping shoulderblocks to Yasuko, Meiko goes up top but Yasuko avoids her dive and dropkicks her in the back of the head. Yasuko goes up top but KAORU grabs her from the apron, giving Meiko time to pull Yasuko off the top turnbuckle and apply a cross armbreaker. Short armbar by Meiko but Kansai breaks it up, things break down a bit with some of the action spilling to the floor. Yasuko and Meiko stay in the ring, Yasuko slams Meiko but KAORU breaks up the cover. Yasuko picks up Meiko but Meiko applies a short armbar, she lets go and charges Yasuko but Yasuko slaps her and tags in Makie. Irish whip by Makie and she hits a back bodydrop, cover by Makie but Meiko bridges out of it. KAORU hits Makie from the apron and Meiko tags in Tomoko, Tomoko stomps on Makie and she hits a swandive missile dropkick. Swandive crossbody by Tomoko, but her cover is broken up by both her other opponents. Meiko comes in and cradles Makie, but she isn’t legal so the referee just looks at her funny. Tomoko recovers, she goes out to the apron and hits a swandive sunset flip, picking up the three count! KAORU, Meiko Satomura, and Tomoko Kuzumi are the winners and continue to the finals.

This wasn’t as smooth as the opening match, pretty clunky in parts. It wasn’t bad, but it went a bit too long and not enough really happened to justify its length. Tomoko looked really good and Meiko showed her usual fire, so the issue wasn’t with the wrestlers themselves, it just really didn’t tell a story and didn’t have the same exciting feeling that the opener had. Decent enough, and the rookies are really coming along nicely, but just too back-and-forth with not enough substance to really hold my attention.

18 Women Battle Royal

The match starts with Bolshoi Kid, Bomber Hikari, Chigusa Nagayo, Chihiro Nakano, Chikayo Nagashima, Cuty Suzuki, Devil Masami, Dynamite Kansai, Makie Numao, Mayumi Ozaki, Rieko Amano, Saburo, Tomoko Miyaguchi, Tomomi Kobayashi, Toshie Sato, Toshie Uematsu, Yasuko Kuragaki, and Yuki Miyazaki all in the ring. I am not going to do normal play by play for this since its chaotic, but the first part of the match is mostly ganging up on the veterans since that is the only way to pin someone like Nagayo or Devil Masami. Let’s jump ahead to the final three, which are Bolshoi Kid, Bomber Hikari, and Saburo. Bolshoi Kid is double teamed by Saburo and Bomber, Bomber goes up top but Bolshoi pushes her from behind. Bomber thinks that Saburo did it and fusses at her, Saburo charges Bolshoi but Bolshoi pushes Saburo into Bomber. This makes Bomber mad again, giving Bolshoi a chance to hit a missile dropkick to the back of Bomber’s head.

Bomber and Bolshoi end up double teaming Saburo, Bomber goes up top but she has to keep directing Bolshoi where to slam Saburo so she can dive onto her. Bolshoi finally does it right, diving double jump bodypress by Bomber, but Saburo kicks out. Saburo goes up top but Bomber slams her off, Bolshoi breaks up the pin for reasons unknown but Bomber drops Saburo with the Bombs Away. Bomber goes up top while Bolshoi positions Saburo, diving headbutt by Bomber but Bolshoi quickly covers Saburo for the three count behind Bomber’s back. Saburo is eliminated, leaving just Bolshoi and Bomber. Bolshoi wants to part of Bomber so she bails out of the ring, she finally gets back in and Bomber drops Bolshoi with the Bombs Away for a two count. Bomber goes for it again but Bolshoi reverses it into a cradle for two. Bolshoi goes off the ropes but Bomber catches her with a powerslam, rebound crossbody by Bolshoi out of the corner but Bomber kicks out of the cover. Scoop slam by Bomber but Bolshoi avoids her stomps, rebound elbow by Bolshoi and she covers Bomber for two. Bolshoi goes up top and hits a missile dropkick, but that gets a two count as well. Bolshoi tries to slam Bomber but Bomber blocks it and puts Bolshoi in an airplane spin, but Bolshoi quickly recovers. Misteriorana by Bolshoi, and she picks up the three count! Bolshoi Kid wins the Battle Royal!

As I mentioned above, this type of match isn’t something you’d have high expectations for. The veterans had fun, allowing the young wrestlers to do well but it was all with a smile on their face as losing in these matches means nothing. Bolshoi Kid back in the mid-90s was mostly comedy, she could wrestle but stayed within her gimmick most of the time. Mindless fun but nothing more than that.

Hikari Fukuoka, Sonoko Kato, and Kanako vs. KAORU, Meiko Satomura, and Tomoko Kuzumi
Super Scramble Six Women Tag Tournament Final

KAORU and Fukuoka start the match and waste no time getting right to it, as Fukuoka hits a lariat but KAORU follows with a dropkick. Fukuoka cartwheels away from KAORU and hits another dropkick, and both wrestlers return to their feet to face off again. Fukuoka tags in Sonoko while Meiko also tags in, and both wrestlers kick each other. Dropkicks by Sonoko and she hits a scoop slam, crab hold by Sonoko but Meiko gets to the ropes for the break. Kanako tags in and she bounces Meiko off the ropes, dropkick by Kanako and she covers Meiko for two. Meiko comes back with a hard elbow and tags in Tomoko, dropkicks by Tomoko and she slams Kanako. Sleeper by Tomoko and she then applies a bodyscissors, but Kanako gets to the ropes. Tomoko tags in KAORU, suplex by KAORU and she covers Kanako for two. Another suplex by KAORU and she applies a camel clutch until Sonoko breaks it up, Fukuoka comes in too and she puts KAORU in a figure four leglock. Meiko tries to break it up but Fukuoka keeps the hold on anyway, KAORU eventually gets out of it but Fukuoka slams her to the mat and tags in Sonoko. Kneelock by Sonoko and Kanako puts KAORU in a kneelock as well, then Fukuoka puts KAORU in a headscissors. Kanako stays in as legal, KAORU finally gets a move in and makes the tag to Tomoko. Crossbody by Tomoko, but Kanako bridges out of the pin. Tomoko grabs her to stop the bridge and puts Kanako in a crab hold, Kanako gets out of it and she boots Tomoko in the chest. Another boot by Kanako and she slams Tomoko in front of the corner before tagging in Fukuoka. Fukuoka comes in the ring with a missile dropkick, but Tomoko falls in her corner and tags in Meiko.

Meiko eats a dropkick too, cover by Fukuoka but it gets two. Double wrist-clutch armsault by Fukuoka, but the cover is broken up. Side headlock by Fukuoka, she picks up Meiko and chokes her before slamming Meiko to the mat. Fukuoka tags Sonoko and they both shoulderblock Meiko, Sonoko snapmares Meiko and puts her in a headscissors. Meiko fires back with elbows and hits a running elbow smash in the corner before tagging in KAORU. Scoop slam by KAORU and she puts Sonoko in a Mexican Surfboard until Fukuoka pushes them over, Irish whip by Meiko to Sonoko and she hits a jumping shoulderblock. Another one by Meiko and she hits a third, one final shoulderblock by Meiko and she covers Sonoko for two. Double swandive missile dropkick to Sonoko, but Sonoko bridges out of the pin. Cross armbreaker by Meiko, but Kanako breaks it up. Space Rolling Elbow by Fukuoka to Meiko but Meiko avoids the second one, cross armbreaker takedown by Meiko but Fukuoka gets a foot on the ropes. Meiko tags KAORU, KAORU goes up top but Fukuoka rolls out of the way of the moonsault. Sonoko comes up from behind and hits a bulldog, missile dropkick by Kanako to KAORU and she covers her for two. KAORU is put into the Tree of Woe and triple teamed, Kanako goes to pick up KAORU but KAORU blocks her and hits a piledriver.

Elbows by KAORU to Kanako but Kanako applies a wheelbarrow roll-up for a two count. Kanako tags in Sonoko, bulldog by Sonoko and she hits the Acid Drop out of the corner. Sonoko picks up KAORU and goes for a second one, but KAORU pushes her off and boots Sonoko in the face. She goes for another boot but Sonoko catches her leg, hard slap by KAORU but Sonoko rolls her up from behind. Sonoko tags Fukuoka, and Fukuoka comes in the ring with a diving crossbody. KAORU rolls through it and tags in Tomoko, Fukuoka gets Tomoko on her shoulders but Tomoko slides off and rolls her up for two. KAORU flies into the ring with a missile dropkick, Meiko goes up top and hits a diving bodypress before Tomoko hits one of her own. Moonsault by KAORU, but Fukuoka bridges out of the pin. KAORU picks up Fukuoka but Fukuoka avoids the brainbuster and hits an Aztec Suplex Hold for a two count. Sonoko and Kanako both hit diving bodypresses onto KAORU, moonsault by Fukuoka and she quickly hits two more moonsaults, but Meiko breaks up the cover. Sonoko and Kanako put KAORU on the top turnbuckle, Fukuoka then charges her and DDTs KAORU from the top turnbuckle to the mat. Rider Kick by Fukuoka, but again the cover is broken up. Fukuoka goes back up top and dives out of the ring onto Meiko and Tomoko, she returns to the ring and goes to the top turnbuckle, but KAORU avoids the moonsault footstomp and hits a hurricanrana for a two count. Fukuoka tries to go up top but is grabbed by Meiko and Tomoko, avalanche armdrag by KAORU to Fukuoka and she puts her in La Magistral, but they end up in the ropes. While all of this is happening there is constantly interference and action around the ring, Fukuoka goes up top but KAORU dropkicks her in the middle of her moonsault attempt. Brainbuster by KAORU to Fukuoka and she nails the swandive moonsault for the three count! KAORU, Meiko Satomura, and Tomoko Kuzumi win the tournament!

This match took a bit to get going, but the last five minutes were crazy. It should be noted that even though they all had wrestled earlier, they still were going 100% full tilt the entire match, without any signs of being tired. Their cardio is insane. KAORU and Fukuoka provided the ‘veteran base’ really well and hit all their high spots, both were flying all over the place to keep the match excitement up. The double and triple team spots looked good and while I think the tag rules were pretty loose it didn’t hurt the match any since both sides were doing it. The ending stretch was just constantly something happening, and they hardly gave the viewer a chance to catch their breath with all the action going on. Maybe a smidge too long as it was almost 25 minutes, and we had already seen two similarly structured six woman tag matches, but still a fun match overall.  Mildly Recommended

The post GAEA Japan “Splash J & Running G” on 9/23/95 Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Over the next eternity, I will be watching and reviewing all GAEA Japan events in order, starting with their debut show on April 15th, 1995. Visit the GAEA Japan Project page for a brief history of the promotion, the roster page, my favorite matches from the promotion, and the full list of all events reviewed. I will also be uploading my favorite match from each show so that everyone can enjoy it.

If you want to watch the GAEA Japan events I am reviewing, Mike Lorefice sells the complete seasons at a very reasonable price both via download and physical copy. Mike’s quebrada.net is one of the sites I’m using extensively to write these reviews, its a great resource for learning more about GAEA Japan and wrestling in general.

I mentioned last week that GAEA Japan’s TV slot on GAORA was only one hour long, so some matches had to be excluded from the broadcast while others were clipped. For this event, it was a big enough show that they spread the event over two different TV broadcasts, giving them an extra hour. I’ll be reviewing both TV shows to give a complete picture of what aired from the event, instead of breaking it up into two really small reviews. Some matches were still excluded, but more was shown than usual. Anyway, this event is highlighted by a big main event match between Chigusa Nagayo and Devil Masami! Here are the matches that aired:

• Maiko Narita and Yukari Ishikura vs. Toshie Sato and Kaori Nakayama
• Meiko Satomura vs. Toshie Uematsu
• Mayumi Ozaki and Hiromi Yagi vs. Sumio Toyoma and Bomber Hikari
• Chigusa Nagayo vs. Devil Masami

Brief profiles for all the wrestlers above have been added to the website, you can click on their names to go straight to it.

Maiko Narita and Yukari Ishikura vs. Toshie Sato and Kaori Nakayama

We join this match in progress, as Maiko works over Kaori on the mat. Yukari comes in and they double team Kaori, Maiko goes for a dropkick but Kaori avoids it. Toshie runs in now as it is Maiko’s turn to get double teamed, but Maiko manages to tag in Yukari. Yukari elbows Kaori against the ropes but Kaori switches positions with her and returns the favor, kicks to the back by Kaori and she hits a scoop slam for a two count. Kaori picks up Yukari and hits a dropkick, she tags in Toshie and Toshie dropkicks Yukari in the chest. Another dropkick by Toshie but Yukari sneaks in an inside cradle. This gives her time to tag in Maiko, Maiko goes for Toshie’s arm but Toshie gets into the ropes. Maiko bites Toshie’s arm, she flings Toshie to the mat and puts her in a cross armbreaker, but Toshie rolls out of it and puts Maiko in a leg submission. Toshie picks up Maiko and tags in Kaori, Kaori throws down Maiko by the hair but she manages to tag in Yukari after landing. Kaori stretches Yukari’s arm but Yukari ducks a lariat attempt and rolls her up for two. Snapmare by Yukari and she tags in Maiko, and Maiko puts Kaori in a stretch hold. Toshie eventually breaks it up, Kaori kicks Maiko and hits the Space Rolling Elbow in the corner. She hits a second one, Toshie tries to hit a missile dropkick to help but she hits Kaori by accident. Yukari runs in and holds Kaori so that Maiko can hit a missile dropkick, but the cover gets two. Maiko tags in Yukari, Irish whip by Yukari but Kaori applies a sunset flip for two.

Kaori tags in Toshie, shoulderblocks by Toshie to Yukari and she goes up top, but Yukari slams her back into the ring. Yukari goes up top and hits a diving sunset flip, but Toshie barely kicks out. Yukari Irish whips Toshie and hits a dropkick, another dropkick by Yukari and she hits a third for a two count cover. Yukari tags in Maiko, Maiko hits a pair of single leg monkey flips but Toshie blocks it when she goes for another one and hits the face crusher. She tags Kaori, Kaori slams Maiko’s head into the mat twice before Toshie comes off the top with a missile dropkick. Yukari comes in to help and slams Toshie, while Maiko spins around Kaori and drops her onto her partner. Maiko tags in Yukari, diving crossbody by Yukari to Kaori but the cover is broken up. Double arm suplexes by Yukari to Kaori, but again Toshie breaks up the cover. Yukari goes for a diving crossbody but Kaori moves, Kaori tags in Toshie and Toshie hits Yukari with a neckbreaker. Yukari blocks the next attempted one and tags in Maiko, but Toshie quickly drops her with a swinging neckbreaker. Maiko drives Toshie into the corner and hits a running powerslam, but Kaori breaks up the pin. Maiko hits a running powerslam on her as well, she tags in Yukari as Yukari goes for a diving crossbody, but Toshie moves and she hits her partner by accident. Kaori and Toshie grab Yukari and hit a double vertical suplex, an assisted standing moonsault follows before Toshie comes off the top rope with a diving elbow drop. Cover by Toshie, and she gets the three count!

As far as I can tell, this was the last match of Maiko Narita’s career, so I hope you enjoyed all three matches of it. Not everyone makes it as a wrestler, although she looked perfectly fine in this match so it wasn’t due to her struggling to catch on. This was some quality rookie action, as Toshie already has grown quite a bit since we first saw her two months ago. She looked shaky on the diving elbow drop but connected with it, as both she and Maiko were advancing past just doing “rookie” offense. Both FMW wrestlers looked solid with Kaori getting a bit more of a chance to shine, overall this is probably the best all-rookie match we’ve seen so far in GAEA.  Mildly Recommended

Meiko Satomura vs. Toshie Uematsu

We join this one in progress also as Toshie is stretching Meiko on the mat, she picks her up but Meiko rebounds out of the corner and an elbow and covers Toshie for two. Meiko puts Toshie in a crab hold but Toshie eventually makes it to the ropes, dropkick by Meiko and she hits another one for a two count cover. Toshie gets back in control and hits a series of running elbows, more running elbows by Toshie into the corner and she hits a scoop slam for a two count. Toshie charges Meiko and dropkicks her, she dropkicks Meiko out of the ring and goes for a dive off the apron, but Meiko moves out of the way and Toshie splats to the floor. Meiko jumps off the apron with an elbow to Toshie, she rolls her back in and hits a couple hard elbows followed by a jumping shoulderblock for two. Elbows by Meiko in the corner but Toshie elbows her back, they both avoid each other’s charges until Toshie hits a back elbow. Meiko fires back but Toshie hits two side headlock takedowns, she goes for a scoop slam but Meiko lands on top of her. Jumping shoulderblocks by Meiko and she covers Toshie for two. Toshie kicks Meiko and delivers a sunset flip for two, dropkick by Toshie and she hits a back elbow. Jumping back elbow by Toshie, but Meiko bridges out of the pin. Scoop slam by Toshie, she goes up top but Meiko tosses her back to the mat. Stomps be Meiko and she throws down Toshie by the hair before ramming her head-first into the mat. Mounted punches by Meiko, and she gets a two count cover. Irish whip by Meiko but Toshie dropkicks her, another dropkick by Toshie but Meiko applies an inside cradle for two. Scoop slam by Meiko, she goes up top and hits a diving body press for a two count. Cross armbreaker by Meiko, but the bell rings as the time as expired.

We get an overtime period! Meiko charges Toshie as soon as the referee signals the period has behind, elbowing her hard to the mat. Stomps by Meiko and she goes again for the cross armbreaker, but Toshie quickly gets a foot on the ropes. Boot to the chest by Meiko and she applies the cross armbreaker again, but again Toshie is able to get into the ropes. Meiko picks up Toshie but Toshie blocks the Irish whip attempt and applies a Japanese Rolling Clutch for the three count! Toshie Uematsu is the winner.

I loved the overtime period, as it showed that Meiko had Toshie beaten but maybe got a bit too loose and Toshie was able to sneak in the win. Very well done. The bulk of the match was pretty basic, Meiko showed her usual fire but it didn’t have the variety that the opener had. Overall fun and reasonably crisp, but the last minute or so was the only part that really stood out.

Mayumi Ozaki and Hiromi Yagi vs. Sumio Toyoma and Bomber Hikari

Yagi and Toyoma start the match for their teams, Yagi gets the early advantage with a crossbody out of the corner before throwing down Toyoma by her ears. She tags in Ozaki, elbows by Ozaki and she applies a Camel Clutch. Yagi runs in to dropkick Toyoma a few times while she is in the hold, Irish whip by Ozaki and she hits a jumping neck drop for a two count. Ozaki works over Toyoma on the mat and then chops Toyoma in the ears before tagging Yagi back in. Double elbow to Toyoma’s ears (apparently that is her weak point), but she finally manages to make the tag to Bomber. Yagi stomps Bomber and hits a jumping crossbody, covering Bomber for two. Yagi charges Bomber but Bomber moves and squishes Yagi in the corner before hitting a body block. Another body block by Bomber and she puts Yagi in a crab hold while Toyoma comes in and stomps on Yagi’s head. Ozaki comes in and breaks up the hold, giving Yagi time to tag her into the match. Ozaki DDTs Bomber but Toyoma breaks up the cover, Ozaki chops her ears but this lets Bomber recover and she tags Toyoma in. Ozaki tags in Yagi, crossbody by Yagi and she hits a few snapmares on Toyoma before going back to her ears. Yagi and Ozaki both bite Toyoma in the ears, cover by Yagi but it gets two. Yagi punches Toyoma in the ear while trying to convince the referee that she is using an open palm, which somehow fools him, she tags in Ozaki and Ozaki hits a somersault kick off the top turnbuckle for a two count. Ozaki goes back up top but Toyoma avoids the somersault senton and puts Ozaki in a bodyscissors.

Now it is Toyoma that pulls on Ozaki’s ears while Bomber come sin and bites Ozaki in the nose. The referee finally gets her to stop, Ozaki gets in the mount position and chops on Toyoma’s ears. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an ear-based offense like this before. Toyoma manages to get a crab hold applied and tags in Bomber, double shoulderblock to Ozaki and Bomber hits a few shoulderblocks on her own for a two count. Ozaki tags in Yagi but Yagi eats a couple hard shoulderblocks as well, Bomber tags Toyoma and Toyoma kicks Yagi in the chest. Backdrop suplex by Toyoma, and she covers Yagi for two. Yagi gets away from Toyoma and puts her in a short armbar while biting her hand, Ozaki keeps cheating and finally the referee forces the break. Judo throw by Yagi to Toyoma, and she gets a two count cover. Ozaki comes in as the legal wrestler but Bomber comes in too, Toyoma elbows Bomber by accident but then Ozaki does the same to Yagi. Ozaki hits a jumping neck drop on Toyoma, but Bomber breaks up the pin. Ozaki tags in Yagi but Toyoma knees her and hits a Side Russian Leg Sweep. She picks up Yagi and tags Bomber, Bomber tries to sit on Yagi but Yagi moves out of the way and dropkicks Bomber in the butt. A couple more dropkicks by Yagi but Bomber reverses the last one, Yagi goes for a crucifix but Bomber blocks it by falling backwards. Toyoma comes in and they both throw Yagi into the air before hitting a double headbutt. They go for the alley-oop but Yagi rolls out of the way, Bomber picks up Yagi  and hits a couple headbutts. Toyoma has recovered and they both headbutt Yagi, but then they start arguing which gives Yagi time to tag in Ozaki. Ozaki hits a double neck drop on both of them, scoop slam by Ozaki to Bomber but Toyoma grabs her when she goes up top.

Bomber joins Ozaki and hits a powerslam back to the mat, but Ozaki bridges out of the pin. Bomber puts Ozaki on the second turnbuckle and Toyoma hits an avalanche chokeslam, cover by Toyoma but Yagi breaks it up. Scoop slam by Toyoma, she goes up top as does Bomber but Ozaki avoids both of their diving headbutts. Ozaki tags in Yagi who hits a missile dropkick on Toyoma, she goes back up top but Toyoma joins her. Yagi jumps over Toyoma and powerbombs her to the mat, she applies a heel hook but Toyoma gets into the ropes. She goes for it again but this time Bomber breaks it up, dropkicks to the leg by Yagi but Bomber hits her from the apron which gives Toyoma time to tag her in. Bomber picks up Yagi and delivers an alley-oop slam, she goes for a second one but Yagi reverses it into a cradle for two. Ozaki tries to help but Yagi hits her by accident, Over The Top by Bomber to Yagi but Ozaki barely breaks it up in time. Bomber gets on the second turnbuckle and hits a body press to Yagi, but again Ozaki breaks it up. Bomber goes off the ropes but Yagi catches her with a judo toss and tags in Ozaki, somersault cannonball by Ozaki but the cover gets two. Ozaki charges Bomber but Bomber slams her in front of the corner, she gets on the top turnbuckle but Ozaki avoids the Reverse Slash. Ozaki now goes up top but Bomber avoids the somersault senton, Toyoma comes in but Ozaki gets away from them and applies a bodyscissors roll-up for two. Release German by Ozaki to Bomber, then Yagi hits one as well. Another German by Ozaki and Yagi, Ozaki then hits a German suplex hold but Toyoma breaks it up. Toyoma is thrown out of the ring before Yagi dives out onto her, Ozaki goes back to Bomber and hits a powerbomb, but Bomber kicks out. Ozaki picks up Bomber and nails the Liger Bomb, and this time she gets the three count! The winners of the match are Mayumi Ozaki and Hiromi Yagi!

Well that was certainly something. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a long segment focusing on a wrestler’s ear, for no reason really since it had nothing to do with the last third of the match. It was an odd way to go as at times I wasn’t sure if they were doing comedy or not. When they weren’t doing that, the match was good but never felt like it had a story since no one team controlled the action for very long. Wrestlers were tagging in and out even if they were on the defense, and it never felt like anyone was in danger. The ending was solid, bit was just a long journey to get there. More unusual than necessarily good.

Chigusa Nagayo vs. Devil Masami

Masami quickly gets the advantage in the match and headbutts Nagayo a couple times, Masami goes for the powerbomb but Nagayo back bodydrops out of it. Masami lariats her to the mat and goes up top, Nagayo tries to joins her but Masami headbutts her back down. Masami goes for a senton but Nagayo rolls out of the way, both wrestlers get up and Masami lariats Nagayo into the corner. Enzuigiri by Nagayo and now she goes for the powerbomb, but Masami back bodydrops out of it as well. Nagayo applies the sleeper, she lets go of the hold and throws Masami into the ropes before hitting a lariat to the back of the head. Masami goes out to the apron but Nagayo hits a high kick, sending Masami down to the floor. Nagayo gets on the apron and hits a diving crossbody onto Masami, she picks her up and throws Masami into the guard rail, but Masami fires back with a bodyblock and both wrestlers are hurt. Nagayo throws Masami into another railing and high kicks her over the rail onto a table at ringside. Nagayo gets on the table and hits another kick, she knees Masami and both of them fall off the table. Nagayo returns to the ring with Masami slowly following, Nagayo goes for a kick as Masami gets on the apron, but Masami blocks it and kicks her back. Masami goes up top but Nagayo joins her, Nagayo goes for another kick but Masami catches it and hits a leg drop onto Nagayo’s leg for a two count cover. Masami picks up Nagayo and nails a powerbomb, cover by Masami but Nagayo gets a shoulder up. Masami charges Nagayo but Nagayo leg sweeps her, she goes for a kick but Masami blocks it again and kicks Nagayo in her injured leg. Masami goes for a diving leg drop onto Nagayo’s leg but Nagayo mostly rolls out of the way, Nagayo is up first and she puts Masami into the sleeper.

Masami manages to get a hand in the ropes to force the break, Masami slowly gets up but Nagayo promptly delivers a high kick to her head and the referee starts a count on Masami. Masami makes it up but eats another high kick to the head, knee drop by Nagayo and the referee begins another count. Nagayo grabs Masami as she gets to her feet and goes for a powerbomb, Masami slides away but Nagayo kicks her in the head again. Nagayo goes for another kick but Masami catches it this time and she puts Nagayo in the sleeper hold. Masami picks up Nagayo but Nagayo reverses the powerbomb attempt by landing on Masami, she goes off the ropes but Masami kicks her and this time hits the sit-down powerbomb. Cover by Masami, but Nagayo reverses the cover into her own pin attempt for two. Nagayo picks up Masami and hits the Running Three, cover by Nagayo but Masami barely gets a shoulder up.  Nagayo is up first but Masami ducks her lariat attempt, Masami goes for a kick but Nagayo ducks it and her leg gets caught in the ropes. High kick by Nagayo while Masami is still in the ropes, the referee starts the ten count but Masami barely makes it up in time. Nagayo puts Masami on the top turnbuckle, Masami pushes her off once but Nagayo kicks her three times to knock her loopy. Nagayo gets Masami up and delivers the Running Three, cover by Nagayo and she gets the three count! Chigusa Nagayo is your winner.

Even with the full hour broadcast, this match was clipped, as according to the official match time about ten minutes as missing. The match felt very old school but it wasn’t as exciting and heated as I was hoping for. I am all for KO spots and I think they should be used more in wrestling, but they went several minutes with long referee counts and submissions which seemed to take the crowd out of it a little bit since it slowed things down so much. Another issue is that how it was presented, Nagayo was pretty much always in control and I never got the sense that Masami could win. That being said, it told a solid story, with Nagayo continuing to kick Masami in the head until she was groggy enough to succumb to the Running Three. Masami’s leg work was fine, ultimately it didn’t stop Nagayo but it was a sound strategy that just didn’t work out. Hard to really recommend a match so clipped but it was a smart match between two legends in the business so you can’t go too wrong.  Mildly Recommended

The post GAEA Japan “Wrestle Of Dreams” on 6/18/95 Review appeared first on Joshi City.